Leroy C. Bowen, Jr.Bowen, Jr.Leroy C.PAWorld War, 1939-1945Coast GuardLanding Craft Infantry Large (LCI-L) 83Radioman Third ClassAtlantic City, New Jersey; South Hampton Coast Guard Radio Station, Long Island, New York; Dartmouth, England; Omaha Beach, Normandy, FranceNoVeteran"When we got to the beach, we realized it wasn't driftwood, it was all bodies." (Audio interview, 36:08)As a kid, Radioman Third Class Leroy Bowen, Jr. spent summers in Wildwood, New Jersey, where he took sailing lessons at a nearby Coast Guard Training Base. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, he left school at the age of sixteen and lied about his age in order to enlist in the Coast Guard. During the invasion, he served aboard Landing Craft Infantry Large (LCI-L) 83, which was damaged by a mine as it approached Omaha Beach. While under continuous fire from the Germans, his crew patched the holes with mattresses and made it back to England, listing all the way. In his interview, he describes the lasting memories of pulling drowning men and bodies from the water on D-Day, and speaks with pride about the role of the Coast Guard in the invasion.D-Day 70th AnniversaryLetter from "Tiny" to Leroy C. Bowen, Jr. [4/5/2000]Letter from "Tiny" to Leroy C. Bowen, Jr. [4/5/2000]Memoir, untitledMemoir, untitledLying about his age so that he could join the Coast Guard; blaming the discrepancy on a typographical errorDeciding to join the US Coast Guard because of previous exposure to sailing and other Coast Guardsmen; pride in being part of the branchGoing out on maneuvers to train for invasion; assignment to Omaha Beach; memory of realizing that invasion had startedPride in the Matchbox Navy; sequence of events on Omaha Beach during invasionLCI-L damaged by mine; abandoning ship and going ashore; stranded on beach; patching the landing craft while under continuous fireFirst view of beach; seeing bodies and thinking they were driftwood; patching up the craft with mattressesNot realizing at the time the risk involved in invasion; being well trained; trusting in his SkipperStill remembering scenes from invasion; having nightmares right after D-Day; still dreaming about what he sawVeterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congresshttp://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/story/loc.natlib.afc2001001.17142/DLC-AFC2018-08-10loc.natlib.afc2001001.17142